Game score display device



Nov. 30, 1965 w so 3,220,127-

GAME SCORE DISPLAY DEVICE Filed June 25, 1963 1 .l- 1 .21. :70 fd 55 5 m i I Z? MAHUL IND a W 20 MWMW! INVENTOR /fleeyzi Mao/v BYW/ZW ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,220,127 GAME SCORE DISPLAY DEVICE Harry B. Wilson, 729 Westminster Road, Brooklyn, N.Y. Filed June 25, 1963, Ser. No. 290,428 4 Claims. (Cl. 40-402) This invention relates to a scoring device for displaying the progress of an athletic contest and is particularly directed to such a device useful with a game of tennis, although it may be adapted for use with other sports as well.

As is well known, in order to know the score in a tennis match, the spectators must have a knowledge of which set is being played at any particular time and also the number of games Won by each side in the particular set being played at that time. It is therefore most convenient to have a scoring means which will suitably indicate at any particular time both the number of sets won by each side, and also the number of games won by each side in the set currently being played.

The existence of such a device is also most useful for players who have just arrived at a court where a number of matches are already being played simultaneously, and who would like to ascertain which match has progressed the farthest so that they can select that particular court for their match. In the absence of a suitable scoring device the newly arrived players, of course, cannot know which game is farthest along and must therefore either ask the players the status of their match or select a court arbitrarily. In the latter case, the particular court chosen may not be available until after several other courts which might have been chosen, but which cannot later be chosen due to subsequent arrival of other players also awaiting a court.

It is also very desirable for coaches and tennis pros to be able to tell from a suitable device at a glance which of several courts will be the next one available for an other match, and also to tell the status of the matches on the diflerent courts merely at a glance.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a device for displaying the score during a tennis match and which will indicate at a glance both the set being played at a given time, and also the number of games each side has won in the particular set currently being played.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a scoring device which is so designed as to enable the players to conveniently and easily keep score accurately and to display the score merely by turning or flipping an appropriate indicator each time a game is won.

It is another object to provide a device for displaying the score of a tennis match during the course thereof which device is compact in construction and may also be portable.

All of the objects, features and advantages of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a front view of a device for displaying the score during a tennis match in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3a and 3b are respectively, front and back views of another embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 4 is a side view of the device shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the numeral designates a base member located preferably adjacent the end of a tennis net 11, and in which is mounted 322,127 Patented Nov. 30, 1965 a vertical pole or support 12 having a cross-bar 14 at the top thereof. The pole 12 may be suitably secured to the base 10 or, if desired, may be removably mounted in a recess within the extended portion 16 thereof so that all of the device to be described except the base can be stored in the clubhouse when not in use. If desired the pole 12 may be of telescopic construction for greater height or to adapt it for use with an umpires chair.

At an intermediate point on the pole 12 there is provided a relatively large card 18 upon which may be printed or written the names of the players as shown in FIG. 1. In the case of doubles, of course, four names would appear instead of the two shown, unless other names are to be indicated, such as for example competing colleges. This name bearing card 18 may also take the form of a blackboard, or if desired, a pad having a number of removable sheets on which the names may be written may alternatively be provided. In any case, the particular means provided should be capable of being easily removed or having the names changed thereon to accommodate the names of future players. The name bearing card 18 may be held on the pole 12 by any suitable means appropriate for the particular type of card selected, the particular means shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 being a C-shaped bracket 20, suitably secured to the pole 12, such as by a rivet 22. The names of the players on the different sides should be indicated in different colors, for example in FIG. 1 the name Wilson may be in black and the name Mahland in red.

Beneath the name bearing card 18 there are located two flags 24 and 26 for indicating when a set is won by each side. Each of these flags 24 and 26 is rotatably secured to the pole 12 by suitable means such as for example, the rivets 28 and 30, respectively. These flags 24 and 26 are adapted to be frictionally held in any position to which they may be rotated for scoring purposes, as will appear hereafter. Each of the flags is of a different color, corresponding to those of the names appearing on the card 18. Thus the flag 24 may be black to correspond with the name Wilson which is black, and the flag 26 may be red to correspond with the name Mahland which is red. It will be observed that only two flags are shown on the device described herein, these being for use when playing matches wherein the side winning two out of three sets is the winner of the match. It will of course be appreciated that four flags, i.e. 2 black and 2 red, can be employed where it is desired to use the scoring device when playing a match of five sets.

On the left side of the crossbar 14 there is suspended a first stack of numeral bearing cards 30 and on the right side a second stack of numeral bearing cards 32 for indicating the number of games won by each of the sides at any given time in the set currently being played. Each of the stacks 30 and 32 is loosely suspended preferably by means of rings 34 and suitable stop means 36 are provided on opposite ends of the crossbar 14 to prevent the stacks 30 and 32 from falling off the end of the bar. The stop 36 may if desired take the form of a stub, not shown, bent upwardly on each end of the bar 14. Any number of cards 30a, 30b, 30c and 32a, 32b, 320, etc., may be provided in each stack 30 and 32 and each adjacent card is provided with one of a series of consecutive numerals on its front face, the series beginning with a zero to indicate when the first game of a particular set is in progress. Although it is possible to run up a very large number of games on both sides before a set is won, a practical number of cards such as for example 10 in each stack 30 and 32 will be adequate for most instances encountered. Suitable spacers 38 are provided between adjacent cards of each stack 30 and 32 to space the cards a predetermined distance and thereby facilitate the rotation of only one card at a time.

As in the case of the flags 24 and 26 described above, the numerals in each stack are color keyed to the players, so that for example the stack 30 may have all black numerals for indicating the number of games won by the player Wilson in the set currently being played, and the stack 32 may have all red numerals to indicate the number of games won by the player Mahland in the set currently being played.

It will be noted that in accordance with the description above, a scoring device of rather compact construction is provided. It is also preferable to construct the device in such a manner that it has a minimum distractive effect on the players, inasmuch as it is located at one end of the net. This can be achieved largely by making the width of the name bearing card 18 substantially coextensive with the length of the bar 14 and with the distance from the outer edge of the stack 30 to the outer edge of the stack 32, as seen particularly in FIG. 1.

At the beginning of a match to be played by the players Wilson and Mahland, both of the flags 24 and 26 will have been placed in the vertical downward position indicated by the dashed lines in FIG. 1. Also, the cards of the stacks 30 and 32 will have been rotated so that appears on the front of each stack. When one player, such as for example Wilson, wins the first game the players of course switch from one side of the net to the other, in which case the player who passes nearest the scoring device merely flips or rotates the 0 card of the stack 30 so that the numeral 1 on the next card is in view to thereby show the game score of Wilson-1 and Mahland0, for the first set. The next time if Mahland wins the game, the 0 card of the stack 32 is rotated so that the numeral 1 appears on his stack, the game score then being, of course, 1-1 for the first set. This process continues each time a game is won by one of the players, until a set is won, at which time the player who wins the set then raises his flag, that is, either flag 24 or 26, depending upon whether Wilson or Mahland wins the first set. At the same time the cards of both stacks 30 and 32 are flipped back to the original or 0 position.

If both the first and second sets are won by the same player, the match is, of course, over. However, if each player has won one set, both of the flags 24 and 26 will be raised to the horizontal position as shown in FIG. 1 to indicate such fact to the spectators. This Will of course indicate that the following set being played is the final set of the match, at which time the position of the cards in the stacks 30 and 32 indicates the game score of the final set as it progresses. As the playing of this final set progresses and different games are won by each player, a spectator can see at a glance that the third set is being played and the game score of each player in this set. As shown in FIG. 1, the score would of course be one set for each player and a game score of Wilson-5, Mahland3 for the current and final set. At the end of the third set, the match is over, at which time the flags 24 and 26 are lowered, each stack 30 and 32 is again set to 0, and if new players are to play their names will be displayed in place of those shown.

FIGS. 3a, 3b and 4 show respectively fnont, back and side views of a modified scoring device on which all of the information displayed from only the front of the device of FIG. 1 is capable of being also viewed from the back of the device, so that with only one device the score at any given time of the match can be observed by a spectator from virtually any position. In FIGURES 3 and 4 like parts are indicated by like numerals as in FIGS. 1 and 2. In addition, there is also provided a second name bearing card 42 identical to the card 18 in a second C shaped bracket 44 on the back of the device. The cards in the stacks 30 and 32 are also appropriately modified so that the same numeral appearing from a front view of the device will also be shown on the back. In order to do this the back of each numeral card except the last card in each stack 30 and 32 is provided in FIGS. 3 and 4 with a numeral 1 digit higher than that shown on the front of the card; the last card of each stack has a zero on the back therof. Thus when any particular gamescore is being exhibited by the stacks 30 and 32, such as for eX- ample Wilson3 and Mahland-0, the front of the 3 card in the stack 30 will indicate a 3, and the back of the 2 card in the stack 30 will also contain a 3. For the Mahland score, i.e., O, the 0 card of the stack 32 will be presented to the spectators on the front side and the back of the highest card provided in the stack 32 will contain a 0 for the benefit of the spectators on the opposite side- The scoring device shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b is of course. shown as it would appear at the start of a match and it will be understood that the operation thereof is in ac-- cordance with the description relating to the device of FIGS. 1 and 2 above.

It will be appreciated that in accordance with the in vention there is described herein a scoring device for displaying the score during a tennis match which has a number of advantages. Some of these have already been re-- ferred to such as for example the presentment of all theinformation necessary to allow a spectator, a coach, or a prospective player to determine merely by a glance the status of the match being played. Additionally the compact and non-distractive aspects of construction of the device will be recognized, particularly by those who play regularly, as very advantageous features.

While the foregoing description sets forth the principles of the invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be understood that the description is made only by way of example and not as .a limitation of the scope of the invention as set forth in the objects thereof and in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A scoring device for displaying the score at any given point in a tennis match comprising a vertical sup- P first means on said support for indicating in two different colors the names of the players on the opposite sides of the match,

numerical means on said support for indicating in different colors keyed to the different colors designating the different players the number of games of a set won by each side,

and two flags mounted for frictionally rotatable movement on said support, one of said flags having a color corresponding to that of one of said names and the other of said flags having a color corresponding to that of the other of said names,

each of said flags having a first position and being rotatable to a second position to thereby indicate the winning of a set by the side with which the particular flag is associated.

2. The invention described in claim 1 wherein said numerical means comprises a first stack of cards for indicating the number of games won by one of said sides in a particular set at any given time, adjacent cards having a different one of a series of consecutive numerals thereon beginning with the numeral 0 in a color corresponding with the color of the name of one of the players, and a second stack of cards for indicating the number of games won by the other of said sides in said set, adjacent cards in said second stack also having a different one of a series of consecutive numerals thereon beginning with the numeral 0 in a color corresponding with the color of the name of the other of the players.

3. The invention described in claim 2 which further includes second means on the opposite side of said support from said first means for indicating the names of the players in different colors as displayed on said first means, and wherein numerals are also provided on the backs of said cards in colors corresponding with the numerals on the front thereof so that the same numbers will appear simultaneously when said device is viewed from either side.

4. A scoring device for displaying the score at any given point in a tennis match comprising a base, a vertical support mounted on said base having a horizontal bar at the top thereof,

a name bearing card mounted in a C-shaped bracket on said support for indicating in two different colors the names of the players on opposite sides of the match,

a first flag mounted on said support and having a color corresponding to that of one of said names,

a second flag mounted on said support and having a color corersponding to that of the other of said names,

each of said flags being normally in the vertical position and being rotatable to the horizontal position to thereby indicate the winning of a set by the side with which the particular flag is associated,

a first stack of cards suspended from one side of said corresponding with the color of the name of one of the players,

and a second stack of cards suspended from the other side of said horizontal bar and adapted for rotation to indicate the number of games won by the other one of said sides in said set, adjacent cards in said second stack also having a different one of a series of consecutive numerals thereon beginning with the numeral 0 in a color corresponding with the color of the name of the other of the players,

the width of said name bearing card being substantially coextensive with the length of said bar and with the distance between the outer edges of said stacks of cards to thereby minimize any distractive influence the presence of said device may have on said players.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS horizontal bar and adapted for rotation to indicate 426 428 4/1890 Bolton 40*70 X the number of games won by one of said sides in a 20 1 774721 9/1930 Morris particular set at any given time, adjacent cards hav- 2176713 10/1939 Hendrix 4O 16 ing a difierent one of a series of consecutive numerals thereon beginning with the numeral 0 in a color JEROME SCHNALL, Primary Examiner- 

1. A SCORING DEVICE FOR DISPLAYING THE SCORE AT ANY GIVEN POINT IN A TENNIS MATCH COMPRISING A VERTICAL SUPPORT, FIRST MEANS ON SAID SUPPORT FOR INDICATING IN TWO DIFFERENT COLORS THE NAMES OF THE PLAYERS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE MATCH, NUMERICAL MEANS ON SAID SUPPORT THE INDICATING IN DIFFERENT COLORS KEYED TO THE DIFFERENT COLORS DESIGNATING THE DIFFERENT PLAYERS THE NUMBER OF GAMES OF A SET WON BY EACH SIDE, AND TWO FLAGES MOUNTED FOR FRICTIONALLY ROTATABLE MOVEMENT OF ON SAID SUPPORT, ONE OF SID FLAGES HAVING A COLOR CORRESPONDING TO THAT OF ONE OF SAID MEANS AND THE OTHER OF SAID FLAGS HAVING A COLOR CORRESPONDING TO THAT THE OTHER OF SAID NAMES, EACH OF SAID FLAGS HAVING A FIRST PORTION AND BEING ROTATABLE TO A SECOND POSITION TO THEREBY INDICATE THE 